1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a parking brake for a vehicle with brake booster.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of designs of parking brakes (hand brakes) for vehicles are known from the prior art. Most recently, power-assisted parking brakes have come into use, which eliminate the need for a hand brake lever inside the vehicle and instead, the parking brake is actuated by means of a button or switch. Proposals have been made in this connection to integrate the parking brake into a service brake of the vehicle. When the parking brake is to be engaged, a pump that is provided in the service brake circuit, e.g. an ESP pump, is activated in order to execute the engaging action and a locking device can then lock the parking brake in the braking position, thus holding the vehicle in place. To release the parking brake, the pump of the service brake must be activated again in order to release the locking device, thus releasing the parking brake after the pump is switched off and the pressure in the brake circuit has been reduced. In systems of this kind, however, it is disadvantageous that the pump of the service brake circuit generates a very high level of noise. Since parking brakes are usually engaged when the vehicle is stationary, particularly when the engine is also switched off, an unpleasant noise can be heard in the passenger compartment. This can give the driver the impression that a malfunction of the parking brake has occurred.